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Joker (Batman 1966 TV Series)
| Last = | Death = http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page | HistoryText = Overview The Joker was a criminal from Gotham City, an intelligent, persistent and dangerous nemesis of Batman and Robin. Early Life Not much is known about the Joker's early life. On one occasion, he claimed to have been a high school dropout. In addition, Batman once noted that he was a well-known hypnotist before he turned to a life of crime. Criminal Career Intelligent and creative, yet totally amoral, the Joker engaged in a wide variety of crimes throughout his life and clashed with Gotham's law enforcement - especially Batman and Robin - on numerous occasions. Utility Belt Caper One of the Joker's earliest crime sprees began with an ingenious escape from Gotham State Penitentiary, facilitated by a smoke bomb disguised as a softball and an enormous spring. Once free, the Joker promptly staged a robbery of Gotham Museum's jewel collection, but was quickly foiled by Batman and Robin, and barely managed to escape. The Joker, attributing this defeat to Batman's gadget-laden utility belt, created a utility belt of his own. The belt - and the gadgets it contained - soon proved to be a wise investment; the Joker's next two heists - at a performance of Paliagacci and at a warehouse storing valuable African masks - saw him deal humiliating defeats to Batman and Robin, and even come close to unmasking the Dynamic Duo. As a result, public confidence in Batman and Robin plunged, and Gotham City's crime rates soared. Drunk on victory, the Joker sought to deal the final blow to Batman and Robin at the launch ceremony of the S.S Gotham, where Batman was to perform the ceremonial champagne-smashing. The Clown Prince of Crime tampered with the champagne bottle, so that it would release paralyzing gas when smashed. On the day of the launch, Batman smashed the bottle as planned, and the Joker and his men quickly captured the Dynamic Duo once the paralyzing gas took hold. Once he brought the paralyzed heroes back to his hideout, the Joker eagerly televised his victory and delivered an ultimatum to Gotham: meet his demands, or Batman and Robin would die. Shortly afterward, however, he was treated to a rude surprise: the Dynamic Duo had caught on to his ruse and slipped themselves antidote pills beforehand, and had only been faking helplessness. Subsequently, the crime-fighters made short work of the Joker and his men, and returned them to the penitentiary. |Powers = The Joker possessed no superhuman capabilities. |Abilities = The Joker was adequate in hand-to-hand combat for a man of his size. Though he was seldom a match for Batman and Robin in a fair fight, he was incredibly resourceful in combat and certainly not above resorting to sneak attacks and other tricks. However, the Joker's intellect more than made up for his combat skills (or lack thereof). A genius at electronics and chemistry, the Joker created dozens of complex gadgets over his career, including a formula that could turn all water into jelly and an entire army of robots duplicating the appearance of ordinary citizens. | Strength = Normal Human Strength |Equipment = * Smoke-bomb softball: Specially-designed softball that exploded into smoke when struck. Used to in conjunction with the giant spring to concoct an escape from the Gotham State Penitentiary. * Gigantic spring: Coiled spring secretly built in Gotham State Penitentiary's machine shop; hidden beneath the softball pitcher's mound in the penitentiary's exercise yard. Activated once the smoke-bomb softball went off, springing the Joker over the penitentiary's walls. * Comedian Statues: Specially-rigged busts of well-known comedians (Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, Ernie Kovacs, W.C. Fields, and the Joker himself) planted in Gotham Museum's Comedian Hall of Fame. These busts (complete with pedestals) could hide full-grown men inside, allowing the Joker and four of his henchmen to bypass the museum's security. * Utility Belt: Meant to mimic Batman's utility belt; contained several pouches that stored the Joker's own set of gadgets. ** Sneezing Powder ** Smoke Bomb ** Confetti Strings ** Replica Utility Belt ** Paralyzing Gas Cork * Hand Buzzer: Typical prank item, hidden in the palm of the Joker's glove. Allowed him to stun others with a simple handshake. * Rigged Vending Machines: Vending machines gimmicked to dispensed coins and valuable stocks & bonds instead of refreshments. Positioned inside Woodrow Roosevelt High School as a way of undermining student morale, tempting students with dreams of easy riches. ** Shackle-Dispensing Vending Machine: A vending machine meant to entrap Batman and Robin. Shot out shackles when a coin was inserted, cuffing the captive's legs to the machine. A hidden nozzle at the top sprayed knockout gas, sealing the captive's fate. * Rigged Jukebox: Jukeboxes concealing double-barreled shotguns mounted on turrets, planted inside various stores around Gotham and operated via remote control from the Joker's hideout. Inserting a coin caused the turret to reveal itself and sweep the gun back and forth, intimidating bystanders so a robbery could be conducted. Also contained a taunting recording from the Joker. * Squirting Flower: Fake flower attached to the top buttonhole of the Joker's jacket; connected to a hose that allowed it to squirt water, knockout gas, etc. |Weapons = * Firearms: The Joker has used ordinary guns on a few occasions, such as when he held heiress Baby-Jane Towser at gunpoint in order to coerce Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred into leading him to Wayne Manor's safe. | Transportation = * Jokermobile Death Traps * Electric Chair Fruit Machine Combo | Notes = Behind the Scenes This incarnation of the Joker was played by Cesar Romero, an American actor of Cuban-Italian descent. Prior to Batman, Romero had performed - as a dancer as well as an actor - for thirty-odd years, most famously as "Latin Lover"-type characters in a variety of films, as well as Duke Santos in the original Ocean's 11. Though he was approaching sixty at the time, Romero infused his role as the Joker with a powerful enthusiasm. Adam West, who played Batman, would later note, "Cesar Romero brought an enormous amount of energy to the role. His piercing eyes, his laugh... I dunno how he did it, because he wasn't 22!". Many fans of the series regarded Romero's shrieking laugh as one of the show's most memorable aspects, and continue to do so even decades after the series' end. Romero, rather (in)famously, refused to shave his mustache for the role of the Joker, even though the character had always been (and still is) portrayed as clean-shaven in the comics. As a result, the makeup that Romero wore to imitate the Joker's chalk-white skin tone was applied directly over the mustache, leaving the mustache partially visible during filming - much to the amusement of many viewers. Today, the mustache continues to be regarded by many as an iconic part of Romero's Joker. Though Romero wore a green wig to mimic the Joker's traditional hair color, the lighting on the show's sets often resulted in the Joker's hair appearing other colors - orange, yellow, etc. - when filmed. Romero would later go on to state that the wig bothered him more than any other part of the Joker's costume, as it was glued to his forehead and tended to give him headaches. According to the notes of series producer William Dozier, Romero was not the first choice for portraying the Joker; several other actors, including José Ferrer and Gig Young, had been considered. Romero himself was perplexed as to why he was considered for the role, commenting, "Why Dozier wanted me I'll never know". Dozier's wife Ann, according to Romero, believed that Dozier had been inspired by one of Romero's previous roles. References in Other Media The 1966 Batman's version of the Joker has proven highly memorable, and has inspired references, parodies, and the like in several other works: * The character of Papí Boulevardez from the Disney Channel animated series The Proud Family is a rather obvious homage to Romero's Joker. Much like the Joker, Papí sports green hair and is often seen in a purple suit; as a reference to Romero specifically, he speaks (and tends to insult others) in Spanish. In addition, other characters on the show have nicknamed him "Cesar" several times. * The Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Game Over for Owlman!" makes a variety of references to deathtraps that the Romero Joker had used throughout the 1966 series. The Electric Chair/Fruit Machine Combo (from "The Joker Goes To School"), the Giant Clam (from "The Joker's Hard Times"), and the Keycutter (from "The Impractical Joker") were all seen inside the Batcave's trophy room. In addition, the climax of the episode features Owlman offering to let that version of the Joker operate a machine closely resembling the Wax Spray Chamber on Batman - another callback to "The Impractical Joker". | Trivia = * According to a slide in the episode "The Joker Goes to School", the Joker stands 6'6". In real life, Romero stands 6'2". * The Joker appeared in nineteen episodes of Batman, tying with the Penguin for most commonly-appearing villain on the show. | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = }} Category:1966 Character Debuts Category:Identity Unknown